SERMON OUTLINE:
(1). The Bodily Resurrection is Familiar and Unique (vs 35-41).
• Analogy 1: Seeds (vs 36-38 & 42-48);
• Analogy 2: Flesh (vs 39);
• Analogy 3: Heavenly Bodies (vs 40-41)
(2). The Bodily Resurrection is New and Improved (vs 42-49)
• Contrast #1: Perishable verses Imperishable (vs 42b)
• Contrast #2: Dishonourable verses Glorious (vs 43a)
• Contrast #3: Weakness verses Power (vs 43b)
• Contrast #4: Natural verses Spiritual (vs 44a)
(3). The Bodily Resurrection Adam and Jesus (vs 44b-49)
• First Adam - Natural
• Second Adam - Spiritual
SERMON BODY:
Ill:
• Everywhere you look these days it seems people are trying to get the perfect body.
• Magazine covers feature tips on how to lose 20 pounds in ten days,
• Cosmetic companies promise creams that erase the lines of time on your face;
• And the media continues to bombard us with the idea;
• That we should all look like musclemen or runway models.
• I like the t-shirt that is available to very large blokes;
• It has the slogan on it; “I have the body of a god”.
• Then under those words is a picture of Buddha!
• Note: According to the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons,
• More than 50,000 cosmetic surgery procedures;
• Were performed in the UK last year,
• The cosmetic procedures industry is booming.
• It has undergone an estimated five-fold increase in turnover in a decade.
• Now at any period of time that would be astounding growth;
• But in the teeth of a recession it is all the more astonishing.
And yet:
• Going under the knife to fix bodily woes doesn't always pay off,
• With new research revealing that two thirds (65%) of those who have had surgery,
• Say they wish they hadn't!
• TRANSITION: As Christians, God has promised us;
• That ultimately we will end up with a perfect body.
• That's right, if you're a Christian, one day you'll have the perfect body.
Ill:
• Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States;
• Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster,
• Scientist, inventor, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat.
• In one of his lighter moments, Benjamin Franklin penned his own epitaph.
• He didn't profess to be a born-again Christian,
• But it seems he must have been influenced by Paul's teaching of the resurrection of the body.
• Here's what he wrote:
The body of B. Franklin, Printer
(Like the Cover of an Old Book
Its Contents torn Out
And Stript of its Lettering and Gilding)
Lies Here, Food for Worms.
But the Work shall not be Lost;
For it will (as he Believ'd) Appear once More
In a New and More Elegant Edition
Revised and Corrected
By the Author.
• TRANSITION: In this chapter (1 Corinthians 15);
• The apostle Paul deals with this subject of the resurrection of a Christians body;
• He does that by answering four basic questions;
• Question 1: Are the dead raised (vs 1-19)
• Question 2: When Are the dead raised (vs 20-28)
• Question 3: Why Are the dead raised (vs 29-34)
• And this morning we have reached the fourth question:
• Question 4: How Are the dead raised (vs 35-48)
(1). The Bodily Resurrection is Familiar and Unique (vs 35-41).
35 “But someone will ask, ‘How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?’ 36 How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. 38 But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. 39 Not all flesh is the same: people have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. 40 There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendour of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendour of the earthly bodies is another. 41 The sun has one kind of splendour, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendour.”
Question: In verse 35 the apostle Paul askes: “How are the dead raised?”
“ But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised?
With what kind of body will they come?””
Answer: I do like his answer in verse 36:
“How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.”
• He says you don't need great faith to believe in resurrection,
• You don’t even need to be great theologians to explain it,
• In fact, any amateur gardener could answer their doubts
• And prove the truth of resurrection.
• So in verse 36b he says:
• "What you sow does not come to life unless it dies".
• In other words you can't have a plant unless you have a seed,
• And seeds have to die.
Ill:
• DVD Clip – Runner Bean hypogeal germination time lapse filmed over 24 days;
• (120 seconds long - Youtube: http://youtu.be/oFOpDT3hXv4 )
• TRANSITION: So every time a seed sprouts life,
• Nature testifies that life can and does comes from death.
• Death is not the enemy to resurrection, it is the channel of resurrection.
• The application is obvious:
• In the same way, you cannot be resurrected unless you die first.
• Death is not the enemy to resurrection,
• It is the channel of resurrection.
Then Paul answers the second part of the question contained in verse 35:
"With what kind of body will they come?"
• Well the simple answer is the new body will be the same but different;
• And different but the same!
• i.e. As a seed is different to the plant it produces.
• i.e. Just like the resurrection body of Jesus.
Ill:
• Think about the resurrection body of Jesus;
• Did Jesus rise from the dead with the same physical body in which He died?
• Yes!
• I was talking to a Jehovah Witness in Trafalgar Square on Tuesday;
• He insisted Jesus only rose as a spirit and not body and spirit.
• So I quoted him the examples that I will share with you in a moment;
• Which prove Jesus rose both in body and spirit.
(example a):
• He showed people His hands and feet, with the nail prints in them;
• Quote: Luke chapter 24 verse 39 – Jesus said to the disciples:
“Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have”
• Quote: John chapter 20 verse 27:
• Jesus said to Thomas,
“Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
(example b):
• After the resurrection Jesus was able to eat with that same body:
• Quote: Luke chapter 24 verses 42-43.
• “They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence”
(example c):
• After the resurrection people were able to grab hold of his feet;
• Quote: Matthew chapter 28 verse 9.
“Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him.”
• TRANSITION: If Jesus' body had not physically risen,
• None of those things could have happened.
• Yet the resurrected body was the same but different;
• And different but the same!
Question: How do we know the resurrected body of Jesus was different?
Answer:
(example a):
• After the resurrection the physical body of Jesus could appear and disappear
• He could pass through solid walls.
• Quote: John chapter 20 verses 19;
“On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them”
(example b):
• He could appear in different forms so His identity was not immediately obvious;
• Quote: Mark chapter 16 verse 12.
“Afterward Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the country.”
(example c):
• And He could ascend directly into heaven in bodily form,
• With no adverse effect as He went through the atmosphere.
• Quote: Luke chapter 24 verse 51 & Acts chapter 1 verse 9.
“While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven.”
“After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.”
• The resurrected body of Jesus was the same but different;
• And different but the same!
• Our bodies will be exactly like that.
• They will be real, physical, genuinely human bodies;
• The very same bodies we have while on this earth - yet wholly perfected and glorified
The apostle Paul uses three analogies (3 word pictures) to help explain this:
Analogy 1: Seeds (vs 36-38 & 42-48);
“How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. 38 But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body.”
“So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43 it is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.”
Ill:
• Plant a sunflower seed in the ground and it will only ever bring forth sunflowers;
• Yet what grows above the ground is very different to the seed you planted.
• It is the same but different and it is different but the same!
• The plant does not look like the seed it came from.
• Likewise, when we are buried in the ground and resurrected,
• Our bodies will not look identical to the ones we now have.
Analogy 2: Flesh (vs 39);
“Not all flesh is the same: people have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another.”
• The apostle Paul mentions four types of flesh;
• Four types of creatures - humans, animals, birds and fish.
• God created each creature after its own kind!
Ill:
• You can eat nothing but Kentucky Fried Chicken for the next ten years;
• And you won't grow feathers.
• And the reason you won't is because the amino acids and combination in your body;
• Will only ever produce you.
• You can eat nothing but hamburgers and you'll never moo.
• You're not going to turn into a cow because the combination of amino acids;
• Is so unique to your body it will produce you.
• TRANSITION: The apostle Paul mentions four types of flesh;
• Four types of creatures - humans, animals, birds and fish.
• God created each creature after its own kind!
• Note: The four types are mentioned in Genesis chapter 1;
• But in the reverse of how they appear in here:
• i.e. The fish (Genesis chapter 1 verse 20a);
• “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth”
• i.e. The birds (Genesis chapter 1 verse 20b);
• “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth”
• i.e. The animals (Genesis chapter 1 verse 24);
• “Let the land produce living creatures … livestock … and wild animals”
• i.e. Human beings (Genesis chapter 1 verse 26);
• “Let us make man in our image”
The apostle Paul argues that God designs bodies to fit the environment they will live in:
• The “flesh” or the “body” of human beings is made for walking,
• The body of birds for flying, and that of fish for swimming.
• God designs bodies to fit the environment they will live in.
• TRANSITION: Therefore our resurrection bodies;
• Will also be perfect for the environment of heaven.
• Earthly bodies equip us to live on earth.
• i.e. We breathe the earth’s oxygen, drink its water, and eat its food etc.
• However, these earthly bodies aren’t suitable for heaven.
• To get us ready for the next world they must undergo a change.
• And so we will need a body suited to heaven’s environment.
Analogy 3: Heavenly Bodies (vs 40-41)
“There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendour of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendour of the earthly bodies is another. 41 The sun has one kind of splendour, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendour.”
Quote: Donald Peedy in Readers Digest said this,
"Like flowers, the stars have their own colours. At your first upward glance, all gleam white as frost crystals, but single out this one and that for observation and you will find a subtle spectrum in the stars. The quality of their lights is determined by their temperatures. In the December sky, you will see Aldebaran as pale rose, Rigal as bluish-white, and Beetle Juice, orange to topaz yellow."
• That's just an idea. They're different.
• Every star is different. Every sun is different.
• The moons are different. It's all different.
• It is unique.
• TRANSITION: In these verses the apostle Paul tells us;
• That not only will our future bodies be different from the ones we have now.
• But they will also be different to the other bodies around us.
• i.e. In the same way no two stars with the same brightness;
• Each Christian will have a light, a glory, a purpose all of their own!
(2). The Bodily Resurrection is New and Improved (vs 42-49)
Ill:
• When watching TV commercials it does not take long before you see or hear the words;
• “New and improved!”
• Walk around the supermarket and you will find those words on everything;
• From detergent to toothpaste to shampoo.
• Like me you have probably become a little cynical;
• And view it as a marketing ploy to try and get you to try their product.
• TRANSITION: These verses in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 are genuine;
• They tell us that all we lost in the fall has been regained at the cross!
• The apostle Paul brings to our attention four changes between now and then.
• Paul contrasts the two living bodies - the present body and the resurrection body.
• Four contrasts between the old body and the new body to come.
Contrast #1: Perishable verses Imperishable (vs 42b)
“The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable;”
Ill:
• I asked someone recently the question; “How are you?”
• They answered: “I am slowly falling apart but I am doing ok!”
• TRANSITION: Just look around the room and we are a group of people falling apart!
• i.e. Some of you came with walking sticks and frames.
• i.e. Some of you have hearing aids.
• i.e. Some of you have spectacles.
• i.e. Some of you have plastic hips or pacemakers.
• i.e. Some of you have false teeth.
• i.e. Some of us have a lack of hair;
• Brothers and sisters we are falling apart!
• And one day (unless the Lord comes) our bodies will perish completely;
• When they go into the grave or are consumed by the furnace.
• But the new body will be different!
• In the resurrection, however, we will be raised imperishable,
• Never to deteriorate or die again.
• In heaven no one will comment on your age;
• Or notice the years are beginning to take their toll.
• You will look as young a billion years from now;
• As you will a thousand years from now.
Contrast #2: Dishonourable verses Glorious (vs 43a)
it is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory;
• All of us come to a point in life when we look in the mirror and say,
• “Mirror, mirror on the wall - you’ve got to be kidding!”
• There is a sense in which our bodies are “dishonourable.”
• But God promises that we will be raised in glory.
It may well be that the apostle Paul is saying:
• So often it is with these bodies we dishonour God;
• i.e. we use our hands to steal.
• i.e. we use our lips to gossip and our tongues to lie.
• But in the life to come our bodies will no longer be servants of passion and impulse;
• But will instead be instruments of a holy and glorious God.
Contrast #3: Weakness verses Power (vs 43b)
“…it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power;”
• Have you ever noticed everyone wants to live long, but no one wants to grow old?
• It is true. As one person said, “Growing old is no fun.”
• If you want proof, just consider the five B’s of middle age:
• Baldness, bifocals, bridges, bulges, and bunions.
• As we have mentioned already our bodies wear out;
• They slow down, decay, sag, groan, and even begin to smell bad.
• We brag about our strength but a tiny microbe can kill us.
• Sooner or later, we grow old and our bodies begin to break down.
• Eventually, they stop working altogether.
• In contrast to these weak bodies, our resurrection bodies will be extremely powerful.
• We will never grow weary or weak.
• Since there will be no need to nap,
• Wives will not have to listen to their husband snoring anymore.
• No more insomnia, sleeping pills, or alarm clocks, either.
• Our way of life will be radically different than our lifestyles here on earth.
Contrast #4: Natural verses Spiritual (vs 44a)
it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body
• When the apostle Paul states that our resurrection bodies will be spiritual,
• He does not mean we will float around heaven like Casper the friendly ghost.
• He is saying that our resurrection bodies will be just like Jesus’ body;
Ill:
• A woman was diagnosed with a terminal illness and had been given three months to live.
• As she was getting her things in order,
• She contacted her pastor and asked him to come to her house;
• Because she wanted to discuss some of her final wishes.
• She told him which songs she wanted sung at her funeral service,
• What Scriptures she would like read,
• And even what outfit she wanted to be buried in.
Then as the pastor prepared to leave, the woman suddenly remembered something else:
• “There’s one more thing,” she said excitedly.
• The pastor replied “What’s that?”
• The woman then said. “I want to be buried with a spoon and fork in my hands.”
• Seeing the confused look on the pastor’s face;
• She decided to explain.
• “In all my years of attending church socials visiting cafes and potluck dinners,
• When the dishes of the main course were being cleared,
• I learned very quickly to ‘Keep my spoon and fork.’
• I learned that ‘The best is yet to come.’
• For me it was my favourite part of the meal;
• Because I knew something better was coming like velvety chocolate cake;
• Or home-made apple pie.
• So, when people see me in that casket with a spoon and fork in my hands and they ask;
• ‘What’s with the spoon and fork?’
• I want you to tell them, ‘The best is yet to come!’”
• TRANSITION: This elderly woman got it right!
• The best is yet to come for when we die we have truly begun to live.
(3). The Bodily Resurrection Adam and Jesus (vs 44b-49)
“The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43 it is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.
If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 So it is written: ‘The first man Adam became a living being’; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. 46 The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. 47 The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. 48 As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man.”
The apostle Paul continues to argue that natural body and the supernatural body are different:
• So he builds an argument using Adam and Christ;
• Because both are one person whose actions had ramifications for the whole race of people.
• He really contrasts the heads of two families.
• So Adam, he is the head of the human family.
• Christ the prototype for the spiritual body.
• For Adam he quotes from the Old Testament - Genesis chapter 2 verse 7;
• Which says; "and man became a living being (a living soul),"
• His point being Adam was made from the dust of the ground;
• And given the breath of life from God.
• Every human being since that time shares the same characteristics.
• Then he refers to Jesus calling him "the last Adam,"
• Just as Adam was the first of the human race,
• So Christ is the first of those who will be raised from the dead to eternal life.
• And just as Jesus Christ, "was made a life giving spirit."
• That is was given a resurrected body and life;
• So those who belong to him will also share the same characteristics.
• Adam gave us a natural body because he was created with one,
• Christ will gave us a spiritual body because He was given one in His resurrection.
In conclusion:
• These illustrations may not answer every question that we have regarding resurrection;
• But they do give us the assurances that we need,
• God will give us a new body suited to the new life in heaven.
The apostle Paul tells us that every Christian will be changed:
• In verse 51 he uses a Greek word translated as "changed";
• Is the Greek word "metamorphoo",
• From which we get the English word "metamorphosis".
• Metamorphosis means to change into a wholly different form or appearance;
• i.e. a tadpole into a frog or a caterpillar into a butterfly.
• Then our old bodies will then be imperishable, immortal, glorious, powerful & spiritual;
• (verses 42-44 & 53).
Notice:
• The apostle Paul tells us that we will be changed in an instant:
• Verse 52: “in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye”
• In the twinkling of an eye and no a blinking of the eye;
• Now that is fast!
No wonder he declares in verse 54b-56:
“‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’
55 ‘Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?’
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Ill:
• This is what makes a Christian funeral so different to an unbelievers funeral.
• To standing beside the grave of a Christian who has just been buried,
• Of course you feel sorrow for the deceased loved ones.
• But at the same time there is a sense of excitement and hope;
• Because we know this is not then end, just the start of a far greater beginning!
Quote:
• Dwight L. Moody, was probably the greatest evangelist of the 19th century;
• Like Billy Graham thousands of people came to hear him preach.
• And thousands of people came to faith in Jesus Christ through his crusades.
Concerning his death he wrote these words:
"Someday you will read in the papers that D.L. Moody of East Northfield, is dead. Don't you believe a word of it! At that moment I shall be more alive than I am now".
Sermon audio:
https://surf.pxwave.com/wl/?id=z3u2KfET1WzGxD1l5zW2MmyqFgp6lW01&forceSave=Resurrection_Bodies_-_1_Corinthians_15_verses_35-58_-_sermon_by_Gordon_Curley.mp3
